Society and the market are today overflowing with organizations forged with the purpose of offering goods and services to the population. These organizations, companies, have great differences between them.
That is why they can be established classifications to distinguish between different types of companies based on several criteria, as we will see throughout this article.
Company: a simple description
It is understood as a company any organization that offers a series of goods and services , generally for economic and/or commercial purposes, to those who request their services. To do this, they require a specific structure and resources to maintain it, which can be obtained in different ways.
There are companies of many types, which we can organize according to various criteria Some of these criteria are the type of activity they carry out, the origin of the economic resources necessary to carry out their activity, in which territorial sphere they operate, their legal constitution or even their size.
1. Types of companies according to economic sector
A type of company classification It has to do with the economic sector and the group of activity they carry out.
1.1. Primary sector companies
These are those organizations that base their economic activity on the collection of raw materials, which allow the subsistence and subsequent transformation of said materials. These are essential companies without which the existence of the other two sectors would not be possible. Within this sector we find activities such as agriculture, livestock, fishing and mining.
1.2. Secondary sector companies
Companies in the secondary sector are responsible for the transformation of raw materials, converting them into different goods ready for consumption. This sector includes activities such as construction and industry both at the manufacturing and energy transformation level.
1.3. Tertiary sector companies
The tertiary sector is based on all those activities linked to the creation and management of services that guarantee the well-being of the population. In today’s Western societies they are usually the most prevalent types of companies in the big city Within this group we can find companies dedicated to medicine, education, psychology, commerce, tourism and hospitality, social assistance, transportation, security, administration or the arts, for example.
2. According to resource control
Another way to classify companies is according to the origin of the resources they have In this sense we find the following types of companies.
2.1. Public enterprises
These types of companies are those that are managed by the state administration
2.2. Private businesses
In private companies, economic resources come from private individuals
23. Concerted companies
These types of organizations are managed by generally private organizations, although they are subordinated and partly subsidized by the administration
3. According to the territorial sphere in which they operate
Where a company operates can also be a criterion when classifying companies. We can find the following types.
3.1. Local company
This is one of the most common types of company, which limits its scope of operation to a single location , like a city or a town. For example, a butcher shop.
3.2. Regional company
Its scope of action is limited to a specific region, such as for example an autonomous community
3.3. National company
The company in question pcan act throughout an entire nation
3.4. Multinational company
The company offers its services in more than one country, having a wide reach and expanding your business opportunities although it also represents a greater investment.
4. According to its legal constitution
Depending on the legal constitution of the company in question, we can find the following types of companies.
4.1. Corporate
This is the type of company that involves the creation of a company, that is, it involves the association of several people linked by contract. They involve the creation of a legal entity different from that of the different members that compose it Within corporate companies we can distinguish several types of companies such as public limited companies, cooperatives or limited liability companies.
4.2. Self-employed
These are companies carried out by a single person which assumes all responsibility and uses its own resources to deal with the opening and maintenance of its business.
5. Depending on the size of the organization
The size of the company, depending on the number of workers, existing capital and turnover volume, also allows us to establish three types of company.
5.1. Small company
A small business is understood to be one in which the number of workers does not exceed fifty, invoices less than ten million euros annually and of which the assets owned do not exceed said amount. These are usually small businesses or companies limited to a specific location.
5.2. Medium company
The medium-sized company usually has between fifty and two hundred and fifty employees, billing less than fifty million euros and having total assets of less than forty-three million. Regional companies and even some national ones usually fall into this consideration.
5.3. Big company
Multinationals are usually in this group. These are companies with a turnover of more than fifty million and a total asset of more than forty-three. They generally tend to have more than two hundred and fifty employees.